I read over 100 books in 2024….

Last year I pushed myself to avoid social media after work, as social media is my job. The easiest way for me to do this was to pick up a book, and then pick up another one, and another, and another, until I found myself having read 100 books before the year was over.

I currently use Goodreads to track my TBR list and my ratings, but I’m looking to switch to a more user-friendly platform this year. You can find my most recent reads below!

My Rating System

To put it simply – I rate books purely on “vibes”. If you look through my Goodreads you’ll notice that I don’t even rate most of the books I read. I tend to only rate them if I REALLY enjoyed a book, kinda enjoyed it, or if it’s exceptionally bad. I’m working to rate more books in 2025, and write more notes about them, I promise. Without notes, it’s been challenging to remember why I have rated books as I did.

Below you’ll find an overview of books that really stood out to me, and continue to do so now. Not all of them were rated 5-stars, and some of my 5-star ratings may not be included.

Most Notable Reads of 2024

Cover of the book Everything I know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Everything I know about love – Dolly Alderton

I was late to the Dolly Alderton hype, but when I saw Everything I Know About Love all alone on a shelf at my local bookstore, I snatched it up. And I’m SO GLAD I did. I’ll admit, I assumed Alderton was a woman in her 60’s who was writing about her entire life experience (which is not a bad thing!!), so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Dolly is in her 30’s, and focuses the book on the lessons she learned in her tumultuous 20’s.

Despite feeling that my life varies greatly from Alderton’s, it was reassuring to read a story about young women feeling lost and learning to navigate life.

Cover of the book Funny Story by Emily Henry

Funny Story – Emily Henry

2024 was the year I really started to gravitate towards romance. And, I’m so glad I did because DAMN do I love Emily Henry’s writing! It’s light, relatable, dreamy, and romantic, making all her books easy reading!

Although I read Funny Story twice in 2024, it’s not my favorite of her books. Funny Story is a sweet story with a main character that’s a librarian and an emotionally intelligent man.

Cover of the book Brave The Wild River by Melissa Sevigny

Brave The Wild River – Melissa L. Sevigny

This book was SO COOL. Brave The Wild River is the story of Elzada Clover & Lois Jotter, the first women recorded to raft down the Colorado River, and the first people to survey the plant life within the Grand Canyon.

I loved how this book was written, piecing together diary entries from the two women, their friends/family/colleagues, other expedition members, and newspaper entries from the time to create an entrancing recount of their journey and experiences. It wasn’t a boringly academic read, but it still stayed true to the facts, and I really appreciated both of these things. These women battled sexism, traditional gender norms, and a difficult trip through dangerous terrain for 43 days. It was incredibly inspiring to learn their story, and how their findings had effects that ran into politics and environmental policy.

Cover of the book The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians – James Patterson & Matt Eversmann

Every chapter of The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians is a short and sweet piece written by, you guessed it, booksellers and librarians! They focus on their daily tasks, how they got to where they are, the communities around their bookstores and libraries, and how books can bring people together and create positive change. I truly enjoyed this read, and found it so interesting to read the perspectives of booksellers working at both indie and chain stores, and how there are strong communities around both.

As someone who has been dreaming more and more about working with books, reading this definitely didn’t sway me off that path!

Cover of the book Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros

Like with romance, I got back into fantasy in 2024 as well. Fourth Wing was maybe my favorite book to encapsulate both genres. I loved the world building, the characters, the relationships, and the plot. It seems a lot of people have neutral or even negative things to say about the writing. Personally, I really enjoyed this book. I found myself having trouble putting it down, and just wanted to read chapter after chapter, after chapter.

Cover of the book The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library – Matt Haig

As someone who felt like they’ve lived with many regrets, The Midnight Library was reassuring? I felt seen by the main characters plights, and reassured in the conclusion. This book confirmed that it’s better to work towards creating your dream reality than spending your time regretting your past.

Again, many didn’t find this book to be spectacular, but its focus on regret was something that resonated with me at the time.

Cover of the book Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Divine Rivals – Rebecca Ross

Divine Rivals is another top fantasy & romance novel. I gave this book ⭐️5 stars, and found the enemies to lovers trope in this very sweet. I also enjoyed that the book was written from the perspectives of the two main characters. The male character has depth and emotional intelligence, which is missing from so many romance books. It’s a low bar, but I felt that Ross met it!

Divine Rivals mixes war, gods, light magic, and romance for another fantasy book that is impossible to put down!

Cover of the book A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury – Sarah J. Maas

Despite everything I saw on BookTok, ACOTAR is another series that I put off reading. Actually, I only gave in when a friend convinced me it would be worth my time. While not impressed by the first book, I was told the second book A Court of Mist and Fury was much better and worth reading. I agree!!

I thought the plot and character development in this book was much better and pretty interesting, although the main character is still a little too quick to create problems. I’m excited to continue the series and feel more emotionally involved in how the story progresses.